NCRI – Thousands of Iranian-Americans rallied in New York to protest the presence of the Iranian regime’s President at the UN on Thursday. The lively demonstration across from the UN was addressed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, via a video feed from her residence near Paris.
Among other prominent speakers at the rally were Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, John Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN, dignitaries from the British and Canadian parliaments, distinguished political personalities and religious leaders from the US, representatives of the Iranian-American communities, university professors, renowned Iranian athletes and relatives of Camp Ashraf residents.
The protest marked the most significant rally against the mullahs’ President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent years. Iranian-Americans participating in the protest voiced anger over the presence of Ahmadinejad at the UN, saying that he is not the representative of the Iranian people and that the seat of Iran should be turned over to the Iranian people and Resistance instead.
Mrs. Rajavi said, “The only solution for the Iranian crisis is democratic change by the Iranian people and their organized Resistance,” calling on the United States to remove an unjust terror label against the principal organized opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
“The US Federal Court of Appeals has provided a great opportunity to rectify this error,” Mrs. Rajavi said referring to the July 16 ruling which called on the State Department to re-examine its decision to designate the PMOI as a terror group. The ruling cast a shadow of doubt on the Department’s evidence against the organization and suggested that it should be revoked.
“The removal of the terror label against the PMOI would not only benefit the Iranian people, but it would also favor law and justice in the US and serves as a cause for peace and security across the world. This is why many members of the US Congress support it.”
“Sanctions can only be effective when coupled with removing the barriers placed on the path of change in Iran,” Mrs. Rajavi added.
Protestors chanted “No to Ahmadinejad; Yes to Rajavi,” and “Ahmadinejad, out of the UN” as they waved posters of Mrs. Rajavi and placards denouncing Ahmadinejad’s visit.
Mrs. Rajavi also called for the establishment of a special tribunal to put the regime’s leaders on trial for committing crimes against humanity, including the execution of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988. She also urged protection of Camp Ashraf residents by US forces and a permanent UN monitoring team.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave a rousing speech, occasionally interrupted by loud cheers from Iranian-Americans.
“All of you are here today to cry out for the world to stand with you and your brothers and sisters who are oppressed by the brutal regime in Iran,” Giuliani said.
He also called for the revocation of the PMOI’s designation in the United States, telling the demonstrators, “It is time here in America to right a wrong that has been done to you and your cause out of a misguided notion that the violent and tyrannical regime of Iran could be mollified. It is about time that we change the listing of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran as a terrorist organization.”
He added, “I’ve studied terrorism for much longer that I’d like to admit. For over 35 years. I have investigated terrorism, and I’ve seen firsthand, in my city, the devastation that terrorism can bring about. This is not a terrorist organization. This is an organization dedicated to achieving freedom and dignity for its people.”
“Your goals are our goals, they are the goals of all decent people; You want to guarantee equal rights for men and women; you want to see freedom of religion and speech and press; freedom of assembly in Iran, You want an Iran that does not threaten the existence of other nations; and you want an Iran that is under no circumstances a nuclear power,” Giuliani said amidst jubilant cheers from the crowd.
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN and former Deputy Secretary of State, also spoke at the event, criticizing the 1997 decision to blacklist the PMOI.
“The evidence I think is overwhelming that during the Clinton administration the MEK [PMOI] was put on the terrorist list because it was thought to be a way to open dialogue between the United States and Iran. That is an illegitimate basis to make a decision about any organisation.”
Ambassador Bolton decried the mullahs’ regime as illegitimate and despotic, describing it as the “central banker of international terrorism.” The only long term solution, he said, is to overthrow the regime.
Other speakers at Thursday’s rally included David Amess, Conservative Member of the British House of Commons, David Kilgour, former Canadian MP, Chairman of the Friends of a Democratic Iran Committee and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, Raymonde Folco, Canadian MP, and Professor Raymond Tanter, Chairman of the Iran Policy Committee and a former member of the US National Security Council.
A number of other political and religious figures as well as leaders of the Iranian-American communities from various states, including renowned former Iranian wrestler Moslem Eskandar Filabi, also spoke at the gathering in New York against Ahmadinejad’s presence at the UN.